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Gorilla beloved of New Yorkers dies

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Lulu the gorilla, a longtime favorite of visitors to New York's Central Park Zoo, died at a retirement habitat in Ohio, zoo officials said.

Lulu was 46, considered relatively old for gorillas, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

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Lulu thrilled New Yorkers in 1972 when she delivered the first baby gorilla ever born at the zoo.

Lulu and Kongo's baby, dubbed Patty Cake in a city-wide naming contest, was born Sept. 3, 1972.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium officials said Lulu died Monday after suffering seizures Saturday.

Other than arthritis, Lulu, a western lowland gorilla, had been in generally good health, they said.

Lulu was born in Africa and came to the Central Park Zoo in 1966 as a 2-year-old.

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